Braiding-machine.



fiH- Z. COBB.

BEAIDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. a1, 1913.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- H. Z. COBB.

BRAIDING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 31, 1913.

Patented Mar. 30, 1911s.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

gin/In NRY TENAB 303B, 015 WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

11: t DING-MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it lmown that T, HENRY ZENAS Gone, a citizen of the United states, residing in Wincheste'n'in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements in lBraid-' ing-Machines, of whichthe following is a specification. r

This invention relates to braiding machines, and 'in particular to machines for braiding tubular fabrics.

My present invention is applicable to any ordinary braiding machine, preferably to one desi ed' for braiding tubular fabrics and pre era-bly one having two concentric raceways, in order to simultaneously braid two'or' more webs.

Mypresent invention provides a supplemeutal mechanism or attachment whereby to introduce any desired number" of longitudinal warp yarns into the braided fabric.

For this purpose I provide as manyshuttlesas there are yarns to be introduced,'these shuttles being normally located beneath the shed of interbraicling yarns,-and being projected upwardly through the shed by shuttle-throwing devices 0 novel construction. Each shuttle travels in a vertically extended shuttle raceway made in two sections. and

having a gap between themfor the passage of the shed of braiding yarns." For controlling the shed it is confined between two rings located respectively above and beneath the shed, the space between them forming the gap in which the braiding yarns travel.

The approaching surfaces of these rings are preferably made sinuous, these edges drawing closer together in the pathsof the shuttles and diverging between such paths.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which show the preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure .1 is a vertical midsection of so much of the braiding machine as is necessary toshow the application of my invention. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation showing one of the shuttle races and the shuttle-throwing means.

In the machine shown a a are the bobbins which travel in a racewayAin the usual manner, the raceway having any suitablenumber of bobbin slots or tracks soas to braid one, two or more plies. The yarns b b from the bobbins pass in the usual manner to a central core 18, wherethe yarns braid together to form the tubular braided fabric 0. The converging yarns b 9, being fed ed by bobbins traveling partly in right-hand and rateateaiuar. so, rats;

between upper and lower guide rings D D fixedly supported from the frame of the machine. The gap (1 between these rings is 1 wide enough to permit the free play of the yarns of the shed while preventing their during displacement in vertical direction the passage of the shuttles. The shuttles E E are'mounted to travel in separate upright raceway's or shuttle races F F, the lower'races F being separated from the upper races F by a distance corresponding to the gap d, so that the yarns of the shed may freely play between them. As'many shuttles and races are provided as equals the number of longitudinal yarns that it is desired to incorporate in the braided fabric. Two shuttles are shown in Fig. 1, the cheat the left being down and the one at the right being up. The yarns e, paid off by the shuttles, join the braiding yarns attheirconvergence where they unlte to form the braided web. p

The shuttles which normally occupy their position beneath the web, are thrown upwardly-by the shuttle-throwing means to be described and when their momentum is expended theyfall back, descending through, the web. Each shuttle has a shuttle-throwing slideor plunger Gr' beneath it sliding in f the shuttle-race F or in any equivalent guide alined therewith; For elevating these slides in the proper succession a cam Wheel H is -'provid'ed mounted preferably in a horizontal plane and concentric with respect to the braiding 'machine.' It is shown as having gear teeth f on its under side meshing with which engages in turn a series of frictionwheels or rollers I I which are preferably faced with leather, rubber or other frictional facing, so that as the projection 2' passes beneath them successively it sets them in rotation. These friction rollers are connected in :any suitable way to the respective slides Gr so that their rotation imparts a lifting move merit to the slides. In the preferred construdtion shown each roller I is mounted on.

a shaft and has connected to it a wheel or drum J, to which is connected-a belt or :s'trap' j, which passes up and over an idler jpulley k and thence down, and is attached to the lower part of the corresponding slide G. The parts are normally in the position :shown at the left in Fig. 1, the weight of the :slide holding the parts in this position. When the projection i encounters the friction roller I it sets it in rotation so that the drum J winds the stra around it, thereby exerting a pullthrou this strap which is: communicated to the s ide G and throws this slide forcibly upward. 'The frictional face of the projection i is only sufliciently long to certainly accomplish this movement. -VVhen the projection 2' passes beyond the roller the weight of the slide G causes it to descend, thus pulling the strap and unwind ing it, and restoring the parts to their first position. This operation is performed upon one after the other of the shuttle-throwing mechanisms. As each .slide is thrown upit throws the shuttle E through the shed and to any desired distance above it, according to the time that it is desired shall elapse before the shuttle falls and again passes through the shed. During this interval the yarns b of the shed are advancing so that when the shuttle descends it carries its yarn through the shed between different yarns thereof from those parted by the shuttle when ascending. Each slide G at the upper limit of its travel is stopped by a buffer or cushion which stops it yieldingly and starts it on its return movement. In the construction shown the slide has a projec- ='tion Z which strikes a rubber cushion m. The moment that this projection strikes the buffer the friction roller has run off. the surface of the projection 2', thus leaving the slide free to fall back so that it descends before the shuttle in its descent can overtake it.

The wheel H is driven sufficiently fast so that it imparts a quick forcible upward throw to each of the slides G whereby the latter throws the shuttle through the braiding yarns and carries it preferably several inches above the shed, so as to allow ample time for the travel of the braiding yarns before it returns, and so that the shuttle in deascending acquires considerable velocity be :fore again entering" the shed, so that it .IPASSBS through the latter as quickly as prac iticable. It is preferable to have only one cam projection or traction face i on the wheel H and to drive this fast enough so that each shuttle is thrown u ward quickly whileyet abundant time is a lowed for the descent of the shuttle-throwing slides and the shuttle. The slide falls considerably in advance of the shuttle and remains down until the descending shuttle strikes it. To relieve this blow and diminish the sound the slide carries a rubber bum er, shown at p, in Fig. 2-. Any suitable ramework is provided for su %porting the respective mechanical parts. he ga d between the rings D D is of varying wi th, the approaching I edges of the rings being sinuous so that they approach each other and narrow the gap coincidently with the shuttlera'ces and recede from each other to widen the gap between such races.

The mechanism described is subject to considerable modification and to the substitution of equivalent mechanical devices or elements Without "departing from the invention.

What I claim is 1. In a braiding machine, guide rings between which the yams forming the braiding shed travel, a shuttle movable through said shed adjacent to said rings, and means for throwing the shuttle, said rings approaching each other adjacent to the path of said shuttle whereby to narrow the shed where the shuttle penetrates it.

' 2. Ina braiding machine, guide rings bev tween which the yarns forming the braiding shed travel, a shuttle raceway adapted to guide a shuttle through the shed adjacent to said rings, and means for throwing the shuttle, said guide rings approaching each other adjacent to said raceway to narrow the shed where the shuttle penetrates it.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY ZENAS COBB.

\Vitnesses:

E. S. STICKNEY, J. P .Pmncn. 

